Means to seal a movable tubular member



June 15, 1965 J. w. BLAIR MEANS To SEAL A MOVABLE TUBULAR MEMBER Original Filed July 21, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Joan W. BLAIR June 15, 1965 J( w. BLAIR MEANS T0 SEAL A MOVABLE TUBULAR MEMBER Original Filed July 21, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Janu vi 5 m:

A T TORNEY W Ill United States Patent Ofi ice 3,l,358 Patented June 15, I965 3 It 358 MEANS T SEAL A Mo vaisrln TUBULAR MElr/IBElR John W. Blair, South Bend, Ind, assignor to The Bendix Corporation, South Bend, Ind, a corporation of Delaware Original application July 21, 1958, Ser. No. 749,992, new Patent No. 3,il59,330, dated Get. 23, 1963. Divided and this application Feb. 7, 1962, Ser. No. 171,723 1 Claim. (Cl. 277-58) The present invention relates to new and improved means for pressure sealing a tubular member into an opening in a relatively thin plate; and will have particular utility for effecting such a seal in those applications where its assembly must be made quickly and inexpensively on a mass production basis. This application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 749,992, filed July 21, 1958, now U.S. Patent No. 3,059,330.

An object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved seal for a tube to an opening in a plate by the use of an interpositioned member wedged in place, and by which the members can be swiftly and easily placed into their final sealing position.

The invention resides in certain constructions and combinations and arrangements of parts; and further objects and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates from the following description of the preferred embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of an air pressure operated power braking unit a portion of which is shown in section to better illustrate the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view similar to that shown in FIGURE 1 and illustrating another embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view similar to FIG- URE 1 and showing still another embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 4 is a diametric view of one-half of the sealing member shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a diametric view of one-half of the sealing member shown in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is a diametric view of the parts shown in FIGURE 2 is an aligned arrangement prior to their assembly; and

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary cross sectional view of the same parts shown in FIGURE 1 assembled in a sli htly different manner.

The air pressure operated power braking unit shown in FIGURE 1 is of the type shown and described in T. H. Thomas Patent No. 2,661,598. To obtain a more con plete understanding of its construction and operation reference may be had to that patent. Sufiloe it to say that the unit includes a power cylinder 16 that is formed by means of a sheet metal stamping formed into a cup-shaped cylinder member and which contains a power piston 12 which divides the cylinder into opposing fluid pressure chambers 14 and 16 respectively. In the normal condition of the servomotor, the power piston 12 is in the position seen in FIGURE 1-and in which condition, atmospheric pressure exists on opposite sides of the power piston. When the unit is actuated, air pressure in intensities up to approximately 125 p.s.i. is delivered to the opposing fluid pressure chamber 14 from its control valve 18 through a cane-shaped tubular member 29, one end of which is slipped into an opening 22 in the control valve body 18, and the other end of which is slipped into an opening 24 through the closed end wall of the power cylinder 10. According to principles of the present invention, sealing structure is provided for the opposite ends of the caneshaped tubular member 29 which will affect a suitable pressure seal when the ends of the tubular member 20 are telescoped into position. The sealing structure for the opening 22 may be of any suitable type which will affect a seal when the end of the tubular member is positioned therein. In the embodiment shown in the drawing, this seal is efiected by means of an O ring is positioned in a recess 23 in the sidewalls of the opening 22.

The sealing structure for the opening 24 shown in FIG- URE 1 is formed by means of a rubber grommet 30 whose outer surface is tapered so that one end thereof has a normal diameter which is slightly less than the diameter of the opening 24 while the other end of the rubber grommet has a diameter which is considerably greater than the diameter of the opening 24. The rubber grommet 39 is provided with a central opening therethrough having a normal diameter which is less than the diameter of the tubular member 23. In the preferred. method of assembling the unit: the rubber grommet is inserted into the opening 24- until it is wedged therein to deform the rubher grommet a slight amount, the end of the tube 2%) is dipped into a volatile lubricant such as denatured alcohol, the ends of the tube 20 are aligned with the openings 22 and 24 respectively, and the tubular member 20 is forced toward the unit to simultaneously insert both of its ends into the respective openings 22 and 24. When the end of the unit is inserted into the rubber grommet 39 the sidewalls of the rubber grommet are expanded outwardly to simultaneously effect a seal with respect to the tubular member 26) and at the same time wedge the sidewall-s of the grommet more firmly against the sidewalls of the opening 24. In some instances it is possible to insert the tube 2%? into the grommet 3t without the use of the alco hol, but in many instances the alcohol is necessary to act as a lubricant in order to insert the tube into the grommet 3d without forcing the grommet 36 through the opening 24. When the tube 29 is assembled and air pressure is admitted to the chamber 14-, it has been found that the tube 2 9 tends to be slightly Withdrawn from the opening 24, and that this withdrawing movement carries the rubber grommet 36 along with it with practically no slippage therebetween to bulge the rubber grommet 30 up against the inner face of the power cylinder it The O ring 26 provided for sealing the other end of the tubular member 26 must be positioned a sutficient distance from its end of the tube 20 in order to accommodate the slight amount of movement which is encountered when the tubular member 2t? is subjected to pressure. The sealing structure shown in FIGURE 1 has been subjected to 274 psi. air pressure before failing. In this test, the grommet 30 was not moved appreciably with respect to the tubular member 29 but had merely flowed around the edges of the opening 24 to permit the tubular member 2% to be blown out of its opening 24.

It will be seen that the method of assembly used in FIGURE 1 has the advantage of permitting the air pressure motor to be entirely assembled; the rubber grommet 3t) to be pressed into the opening 24 from the outside of the motor; and the tubular member 20 to thereafter be merely inserted into position. In some instances where the sealing structure is to be used to seal higher pressures, it may be to advantage to force the grommet 30 into the opening 24 from the pressure side of the opening as illustrated in FIGURE 7 and to thereafter press the end of the tube member 2% into the rubber grommet. There is a tendency when using this method of assembly to force the rubber grommet 30 through the opening 24 so that the rubber grommet 36 will sometimes need to be held in position while the tubular member 20 is being forced into position. In the majority of instances, however, it has been found that if the rubber grommet 30 is wedged into position and the end of the tube 2% is well lubricated with alcohol, that the tube can be inserted into the smaller diameter end of the grommet without forcing it out of the opening 24.

A further refinement of the invention is seen in FIG- URE 2 of the drawings wherein the seal is effected by means of a rubber grommet 32 having an annular recess 3 in its outer surface. The rubber grommet 32 is preferably molded with an interference fit of approximately .020 of an inch between the bottom surface of its annular recess 34 and the sidewalls of the opening 24, and has the advantage over the rubber grommet 30 in that there is a pre-cast portion of the grommet which engages the inside wall of the power chamber surrounding its opening 24. The rubber grommet 32 is assembled in the same manner as described for the rubber grommet 30 as seen in FIGURE 1the rubber grommet being sufficiently pliable as to permit its end to be deformed or squeezed together sufficiently to permit its end to be forced through the opening 24 and thereafter snap radially outwardly into position to engage the walls of the opening 24. The rubber grommet which is currently being used is molded from butyl rubber, and the recess of which has a depth of approximately .05 of an inch. The inner surface of the recess in turn is provided with approximately .05 of interference fit on a side with respect to the opening in which it is inserted, and the diameter of the hole through the grommet is also provided with an interference fit of approximately .05 of an inch on the radius with respect to the tubular member 20. In some instances a wire snap ring 36 has been positioned on the outer end of the rubber grommet to effect a further seal between the grommet and the tubular member 20.

in high pressure applications, it may in some instances be desirable to positively insure that the tubular member 20 cannot be withdrawn from the opening 24 once the power unit is assembled. This may be required, for example, in order to meet certain interstate commerce commission regulations and/or state laws. In order to make it impossible to withdraw the tubular member 29 once the unit is assembled, the construction shown in FIGURE 3 might be utilized wherein the end of the tubular member 20 is flared over to make it impossible for the tube to be withdrawn through the opening 24. In those instances when a rubber grommet 32 is to be used, the grommet 32 may be positioned in the opening 24 and the long end of the tubular member 20 passed through the opening in the grommet from the inside of the power cylinder until the flange end of the tube is brought approximately into position. Where such an assembly is to be used, the inside diameter of the power cylinder 10 will be greater than the width of the bent portion of the tube so that the entire bent portion may be fed down through the inside of the power chamber, and the bent portion thereafter threaded through the opening 24.

t Where the flared end tubular member 38 is to be used with a rubber grommet 30 the tubular member 33 may first be threaded through the opening 24, and thereafter the rub-- ber grommet 30 may he slid down the entire length of tubing until it becomes wedged in place. Thereafter a slight withdrawal of the flared end of the tubing 38 may be used to more firmly wedge the grommet 30 into place.

It will be apparent that the constructions and procedures above described will have utility in many other applications where pressure seals between tubes and openings through relatively thin members are required; and that the sealing structures so provided will be equally effective for both positive and negative pressures.

Whiie the invention has been described in considerable detail, I do not wish to be limited to the particular constructions and methods shown and described; and it is my intention to cover hereby all novel adaptations, modifications and arrangements thereof which come within the practice of those skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

I claim:

For two members having generally parallel, spaced apart openings in each, a means to provide fluid communication between said openings, said means comprising:

a U shaped tubular member having end portions one of which is flared outwardly, which members end portions extend into the respective openings;

an annular grommet placed over said tubular member adjacent and behind the end that is flared outwardly, said annular grommet being sized to afflx the tubular member in the opening in one of said members with the diameter of the tubular member being of a size to expand said grommet outwardly to engage the member evenly around said opening; and

a sliding seal in the other of said openings in the other member to sealingly and slidably connect said tubular member to said other member so that relative displacement between said members is allowed while permitting continued, sealed, fluid communication.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 646,668 4/00 Noppel 2771'l8 1,010,592 12/11 Cole 277178 XR 1,218,216 3/17 Schmid 277-178 XR 1,873,592 8/32 James -2 277178 2,713,996 7/55 Pottharst 285157 XR 2,772,034 11/56 Richmond 277178 XR 2,991,760 7/61 Rhine 91-189 EDWARD V. BENT-1AM, Primary Examiner.

THOMAS J. HICKEY Examiner. 

